Far from home: Officers wrangle loose emu named Kevin who traveled 30+ miles to Lenoir

LENOIR, N.C. — Police officers in Lenoir wrangled a female emu named Kevin who decided to lay down next to a family on Saturday, officials said.

The emu traveled from her home in Moravian Falls, which is in Wilkes County more than 30 miles northeast from where she was found. Lenoir officials said she made a surprise visit to a father and his three children on Eastwood Park Drive Southeast in Lenoir.

She had been on the run for more than a month, her owner told Channel 9.

[ALSO READ: NC county locates emu on the loose, creates plan to capture him]

Officers managed to get a lasso made from a dog leash around the emu and feed her. They also led her to a resident’s fenced-in backyard.

“No matter what call you get, when you’re on your way, you try to run a thousand scenarios through your head,” said Sgt. Sgt Martin Crisp, Lenoir Police Department. “But I never thought I would be running, ‘How to catch an emu.’”

Kevin’s owner, Heather Leatherman, told Channel 9 she posted on social media in hopes of finding Kevin and got help from neighbors who went out looking for the big bird. Later, the Caldwell County Animal Care Enforcement Division picked up the emu and contacted her.

“File this one under ‘other duties assigned,’” a Facebook post from the city of Lenoir read.

According to animal control, there were sightings of the animal both in Alexander and Caldwell counties.

Leatherman showed Channel 9 where she keeps Kevin and her other emus behind her home off of Highway 16 north of Taylorsville. She said some neighbors’ dogs spooked Kevin in late March and she managed to jump the fence and took off.

She said after looking for Kevin, she had pretty much given up hope thinking that a predator possibly had attacked her in the the mountains. She was stunned to learn she was still alive and was able to identify her through photos and markings on the bird.

“I am shocked [she] went that far, I just figured if [she] was living, you know, we’re in the mountain area,” Leatherman said. “But [she] was just near a river or stream, because they live out in the wild in Australia.”

Leatherman said Kevin had lost 20 to 30 pounds during her journey. She also said she has plans to build a bigger fence to keep her safe at her home.

Adult emus can reach up to between five and six feet in height. They are typically friendly and live for about 35 years, according to the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.

(Watch the video below: Emu Runs Free Through Rock Hill)

Emu Runs Free Through Rock Hill Emu Runs Free Through Rock Hill

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